HEALING THE OZ
by cr8zygirl
Summary: DG and Cain go off on another adventure.  They come to terms with their feelings for one another and bring the O.Z. back to the House of Gale. I do not own Tin Man or any of it's characters. Reviews are loved and appreciated. :
1. Chapter 1

She didn't know exactly what she was supposed to do now. She had finally defeated the Sorceress and her family was safe. She was in over her head, she didn't know how to be a princess, heck she hadn't even known she was a princess until just a couple of days ago. Was it really only a couple of days, it seemed like so much longer. She had only known Cain, Glitch, and Raw for a week, yet it seemed she had known them her whole life. They still had a lot to do. They needed to gather the rest of the Longcoats and see if they were loyal to the Sorceress because of fear, belief that she was the rightful ruler, or if they were just following Azkadellia, Princess. She didn't want Cain, Glitch or Raw to go away but they were needed in other parts of the O.Z. It was great that she had been reunited with her real family and that Azkadellia was free from the Sorceress, but she felt useless.

"Hey Kid, what are you thinking so hard about?" Cain asked.

"I feel completely useless. After the week we've had you would think that I would appreciate some nice down time. But I don't, I feel like I'm going crazy. I need something to do. Please tell me you have something for me to do Cain."

"I figured that was how you would feel. So I talked to the Queen and Consort and got their permission to have you help me scour the O.Z. looking for either Longcoats or Resistors to tell them about the end of the Sorceress reign and the role she played in the destruction of the O.Z. and how it wasn't really Azkadellia ruling it was the Sorceress".

"Really, they actually said I could go? I would have thought that they would have wanted me to stay here".

"I convinced them that it was a good idea for the people to see that you were alive and well and the part you played in bringing down the Sorceress. It would go a long way in convincing the people that the Gales haven't given up on the O.Z., they were booted out".

"Thank you, oh thank you, Cain" DG said hugging him then bounding away in excitement.

"You're welcome, Princess" Cain replied.

"Cain are we really going to go back to the Princess thing again?" DG asked.

"Well that is what you are, isn't it?" Cain asked.

"That is my title, not who I am. I am just DG ex-waitress and mechanic. I know that is what my birthright is but I don't remember being a princess, I guess I am going to be an unconventional one and everyone had better get used to it." DG huffed.

"I have no doubt that that will be the case. Everyone in the palace loves you for all your weird ways and many of them would do anything to protect you. It won't take you long to win over the rest of the people in the land."

"Thank you, Cain. It's nice to know that someone believes in me".

"Always, DG, always. But it might take the people a little while to get used to the way you do things, wearing pants instead of dresses, hugging everyone like they are part of your family and your funny way of talking so no one can understand you."

"Hey, I wear pants because they are more comfortable than being squeezed into a corset, and because I am a princess technically everyone is part of my family and I don't talk funny, the rest of you do" DG said testily.

"I know princess, but around here it is you who act different than they do and you are the Slipper Princess, so they know that you are going to do things a little different. It will just take them a little time to adjust to you is all. And I have complete faith in you that you will do all in your power to do just that and they will be more loyal to you than they ever were to any other princess before. You have this quality about you that you expect people to be loyal to you and to do whatever is in their power to live up to your expectations".

"Cain, you are making it sound like it's a bad thing and not making me feel better at all if anything you are making it worse. Go talk to your son, I won't be needing your services anymore today" she said stomping off.

"Dad what did you say this time?" Jeb asked behind him.

"All I said was that we were going to travel the O.Z. and that she might take the people a while to decide that she is the real deal because of the way she acts" Cain responded.

"Agh Dad, women like to know that everything is perfect the way she acts not to have her weaknesses thrown back at their faces. I swear I don't understand how it is that I know more about girls than you do. After all you married Mom and you are my Dad. Isn't it the Father who is supposed to instruct the Son on how to act around girls not the other way around" Jeb responded.

"Yeah well your mother was my first love. I hadn't shown any interest in girls before she came along and she was the one who told me the way things were going to be and she is the one who kissed me first and she is the one who proposed to me" Cain responded.

"Really? She never told me that" Jeb responded.

"Really. I don't think I ever would have gotten your mother if she didn't decide that she was the one who wanted me. I would still be working up the courage to go up to her and talk" Cain said with a grin.

"Well then it's a good thing that DG was the one to come barging in your life waving a stick isn't it?" Jeb asked slyly.

"What do you mean by that?" Cain nearly exploded in shock.

"Nothing. If you having figured it out yet, I'm not going to be the one to share the news with you. This is something that you have to work out yourself. If anyone else tells you then you will never believe them and I think it would be a good idea if you concentrated on your heart while you are roaming the countryside with DG" Jeb said smugly.

Cain just glared at his son, not bothering to even answer him.

"Well I guess I'll go find DG and try to comfort her and talk about how you don't have a heart and that you will never understand and anything else she wants to talk about. I am after all closer to her age and am more willing to listen to her instead of telling her everything that is wrong" Jeb said walking off and leaving his father behind him still staring after him unable to think straight.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"DG are you alright?" Jeb asked when he finally caught up with her.

" Does it look like I'm alright Jeb, your father thinks that I am just a bother, a job that he has to fulfill as it is his duty" DG snarled.

"DG that's not it at all"

"Are you actually defending him Jeb? He is the one who said that everything I did was wrong and that I had to conform to the idea of royals that everyone has and that I can't be myself anymore. I didn't grow up a princess. I was just a normal girl with normal dreams. Momsy and Popsicle couldn't even afford to send me to college. I had to work at a diner and work around the farm so that we could afford to get food on our table. I even hired myself out for work so that I would have enough money so that I could get some college experience. I am not used to just sitting there looking pretty" DG exploded.

"Nothing you could do is wrong DG. Everyone thought you were dead and they weren't sure how they would ever get rid of the witch. Then all of a sudden they find out that the youngest Princess was alive and had been sent over to the Other Side for her own protection so that she could grow up to defeat the witch. Everyone knows that the Other Side has a different way of doing things. How could anyone have expectations for you if we all thought that you were dead?" Jeb reasoned.

"Thanks Jeb" DG said as she gave him a hug, "you always know exactly what I need to hear".

"Don't stay mad at my dad okay, he just wants to see you happy, even though he has a different way of showing it than most people. I think in his own way he was saying that he actually liked you for your differences from everyone else around you".

"You do know him best".

At Jeb's haunted look DG instantly regretted her words.

"Jeb, I'm sorry, that didn't come out the way I wanted it to".

"It's okay DG, I know what you meant and to tell you the truth I do probably know him the best. Even after mom and I thought he was dead she told me stories about him so that I would never forget him. I think she was raising me to be just like the man she loved".

"Well" DG said quietly, "I think she succeeded. You are both very honorable and brave men. I wouldn't change anything about you".

"Even the older Cain's inability to talk unless he's mad at you?" Jeb said teasingly.

"Well that is something that is easily changed don't you think? We just have to train him differently, teach an old dog new tricks so to speak."

"DG sometimes you have to oddest way of talking and I don't think dad would appreciate you calling him old".

"Let's go find Az and see if we can try to get her and Glitch together. Don't you think they would be great together?"

"DG, I am not sure your sister would appreciate it if you are forcing her in situations that would make her uncomfortable" said Jeb as they walked away arm in arm to go find Az.

Unbeknownst to them the man in question watched them leave pain showing in his blue eyes.

"She will once she get's Glitch to actually notice her. She has been moping around remembering what Ambrose used to be like before the Sorceress removed his brain. I think she liked him, but because he was so brilliant he was always wrapped up in one experiment or another. I think she is secretly hoping that Glitch will forgive her and that no matter how bad it sounds to have him never reunite with Ambrose so that he won't always be busy and so that they can spend time with one another".

"DG honestly I couldn't care less about romance. The only thing I care about is leading the Resistance and getting the OZ back to the way it was when I was a boy without any fear or evil hanging over it. Being in fear all the time really takes a toll on a body and I am ready for a really long rest. The faster we deal with getting the rest of the Longcoats under control then I can take a break but until then, it looks like you're stuck with me Princess" Jeb said smiling.

"Jeb, thanks for sticking around and calming me down" DG said softly.

"The pleasure is all mine Princess".

"You know I'm really glad that Az won't let the time she was possessed by the witch ruin her life. She has determined that because she had let so much time pass under the witch's power, now is the time to let her true light shine through" DG commented.

"DG probably being around you helps her do that".

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You have this way about you that makes everyone want to be good. You also have a strength that you lend to others so that they can heal. You helped my dad stay sane after he was in the tin suit for 8 annuals. I was only in my tin suit for a few months and I was afraid that even after that short amount of time I would go crazy. The only thing that helped me was that the Resistance were the once who found me and help give me something to live for other than revenge. Raw was a coward that was running away from a shadow and you helped him stand up for what he believed in and loved. Dad told me that Raw was the one who saved the day in the brain room and he wouldn't have done that if not for you. And you helped Glitch realize that he didn't need to have his whole brain to be important, but you and Az helped him get his brain back in his head and even though he still glitches, he uses his inventions to help heal the OZ". Jeb replied.

"Wow Jeb that is the longest you have spoken at once what has gotten into you?" DG asked.

"Well I just figured that if Dad thinks we are friends that he will get jealous" Jeb shrugged.

"Jebidiah Cain, explain yourself at once!" DG nearly shouted at him.

"Well I've noticed the way Dad looks and acts around you and I think he likes you but he is worried that liking you will be a betrayal to Mom. But, what he doesn't know is that Mom found a nice man, that she married because she thought that Dad was dead. By showing my support I'm hopping that he will act on his feelings".

"Isn't it weird to you that I am closer to your age than your Dad's though?"

"Surprisingly no, at least I know that I will like my new step-mom" Jeb said grinning.

"Well it bothers me a little bit. And I thought you said that you didn't like romance" she huffed.

"If I don't do anything about it then it will take a lot longer than if we wait around for him to do anything about it" Jeb answered logically.

"I don't even know if I even like him Jeb" DG replied quietly, "he's just been so different since the witch was defeated. He never wants to be seen with me and it's almost as if he hates me for having a hand in killing your mom and having him locked up in the tin suit for 8 years. And when we do talk all he does is complain at me about how I don't act the way a Princess should act, or how I need to stop running away, or how stupid and reckless I am. I want the Wyatt Cain that was with us on the road, slightly over-protective but loyal to a fault. I feel as if I'm losing my best friend Jeb and I can't do a thing to stop it".

"DG, he is trying to adjust to the new situation that he is in as well. He didn't even know that you were a princess until the Mystic Man told him, then he was ordered to protect you at all costs. Now that the witch is dead, he's kind of at a loss. Just give him sometime, all work out in the end" Jeb said.

"So he thinks that I'm a job does he! Ugh, I don't know why I even bother talking to any Cain's at all. I know you don't want to help me with Az and Glitch so just go find your dad and see if he wants to hand you butt on a plate to you for flirting with me" DG said half to herself and half to Jeb.

"Princess I..." Jeb started.

"Oh it's alright I'll calm down in a little bit, just can you leave me alone for awhile?" she asked.

"I'll go see if there is anything that needs to be done down at the camp".

"Thanks Jeb, and don't worry it's not really you I'm mad at".

"I know DG, but could you please keep out of trouble, Dad will skin me alive if you get yourself hurt and neither he nor I is there to save you".

"Oh get on with you already, and don't you know trouble is my middle name. I can't promise anything" DG said grinning.


End file.
